The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
Communication networks typically employ network devices such as bridges and routers to forward information within the network. Efficient management of communication networks requires monitoring various operational attributes of the network devices, as well as operational attributes of the network itself. Monitoring such attributes often requires counters, the use of which has expanded dramatically in recent years. The physical space required to accommodate all of the different counters used in network applications has grown accordingly.